Suspension set-up for S4R

[Ducnewby]

I have seen a few discussions, but... having a hard time finding one here. Maybe I am not saying the right thing in the search. I am 6-2 220 and have heard many things said about adjusting the ride height etc to get better handling. I have heard that raising the rear an inch and lowering the front a half inch is the way to go, along with a stiffer spring in the rear.

Trying to save $$$, I'd like to adjust the front and rear and see the affect, without having to buy a new spring. Do I need special tool to make these adjustments? They make it seem really easy in the owners manual, but I scared!!!

[DucHead]

Try here.  These instructions will help you with sag (front and rear) and compression damping.

[He Man]

there was a thread about this already....either way, if your lookng to ride aggressive, droping an inch in the front will almost defintely cause issues with the fender hitting your radiator. Droping an inch on a 2v will make your fender hit the oil cooler if you come down on a wheelie too hard. I have my front lowered about 10mm

[Capo]

Try this:

Raise the rear 10 mm
Increase rear shock preload 5mm
Raise the forks through the triple clamps 8mm
Front pre load--2 1/2 adjustment lines showing (5mm),1 1/2 lines for track (3mm)
Front comp--12 clicks back from fully in,9 for track
front rebound--11 clicks back from fully in,9 for track
rear comp--1/4 turm back from fully in, all in for track
rear rebound--1/4 turn back from fully in, all in for track

[LA]

I'm 6'2" and range between 220 and 230.  What works for me:

Increase spring preload two full turns in the rear and in the front. Increase compression two clicks on rear and two on the front, once I made sure stock settings were as per owners manual.

Increase rebound damping one click over stock both front and rear.

Increase rear ride height 1" and lower the front 3/8" (8mm as per Capro). Any more and clearance issues on full braking come into play.

It's a little stiff, but ridden aggressively, it handles like it's on rails.

The rear ride height rod adjustment can be a real pain in the arse. I take mine off to make the change.

LA

Measure from the floor to a point on the rear before you begin for a base line. If you don't have at least a rear Pit bull type stand you should.

[TJR178]

Raising an old one here...

This weekend I want to tune my stock suspension.  I can't get the Penske set-up that I want yet, so I'm going to do my best with what I have. 

First the details:
Right now, I have the whole suspension set to factory settings.  Geometry is different though.  I currently have the rear raised, but I forget how high I raised it.  The forks are at they're stock 16mm height.

Now, the questions:
1) Does anyone know the stock rear ride height?  I want to get the bike to factory settings to start out.  I could've sworn I've seen a picture of the ride height adjuster with the factory settings (number of threads showing on the bottom and top), but I can't find it.
2) What should I change the geometry to (after I set it back to normal)? 

Once I have the geometry set up, I'm going to go through the tutorial that Pompetta posted to years ago (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=982.0) as it seems to be the most detailed...and he has an S4R

FYI, I'm 6'3" and weigh ~190 with gear on.

Thanks everyone!

[Speeddog]

AFAIK, it's the same settings as an S4.
I've got my S4 service manual back at the shop, but it has the OEM pushrod length and fork position.
I'll try to remember to look at it tomorrow.

You're a little heavy for the stock fork springs, and a good bit too heavy for the rear spring.

[TJR178]

AFAIK, it's the same settings as an S4.
I've got my S4 service manual back at the shop, but it has the OEM pushrod length and fork position.
I'll try to remember to look at it tomorrow.

You're a little heavy for the stock fork springs, and a good bit too heavy for the rear spring.

If you could let me know, that would be great!

Yeah, I know I'm too heavy for the springs, but I'm going to at least make things better with what I got.  I plan on dropping the coin on new components this fall.

[DarkStaR]

All that info should be in the owners manual.

[Speeddog]

All that info should be in the owners manual.

I couldn't agree more.
But it's not there.
 

For an S4:
Fork position - 195.5mm from the top of the lower triple clamp to the top of the fork cap flange (bottom of the big hex).

Pushrod:

According to the S4R manual - Maximum length, center to center - 272mm, also no more than 7.5mm of thread showing.

Standard length according to S4 manual - 272mm

On my S4, it's at factory delivered length, and ~2 threads showing each end.

HTH.....

[TJR178]

Thanks Speeddog! 

[TJR178]

BTW, this is what I was looking for as far as the tie-rod pic goes:

http://www.mototrade.cz/img/data/pages/370.pdf

Page 37.